tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-57243038657641661212018-03-05T11:55:01.343-07:00The Pot Calling the Gina BlackThoughts and art by Gina Black.Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.comBlogger194125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-54026625808012895902014-06-06T00:28:00.001-06:002014-06-06T00:28:07.585-06:00One Beautiful, Wonderful, Crazy, Amazing Year<div style="text-align: center;">One year ago today, my water broke.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">One year ago today, we went to the hospital.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">One year ago today, we met out firstborn baby boy who changed everything forever.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G4O4oo265TA/U5FZQsKq29I/AAAAAAAAA6A/jqp-6ShCGW8/s1600/IMGP2155.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G4O4oo265TA/U5FZQsKq29I/AAAAAAAAA6A/jqp-6ShCGW8/s1600/IMGP2155.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">One year ago, I officially became a mother, and watched my husband transform into a father.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2sxqx9reYzg/U5FZGDL4R1I/AAAAAAAAA54/1DL9iF601Lk/s1600/097A1030-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2sxqx9reYzg/U5FZGDL4R1I/AAAAAAAAA54/1DL9iF601Lk/s1600/097A1030-2.jpg" height="640" width="482" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="http://www.rgardnerphotographs.com/" target="_blank">R.Gardner Photographs</a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Is it cliche to say that it went by way too fast? Well, it's true, it did. I could feel the time speeding up the first week of Sawyer's life, and it hasn't slowed down one bit since.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">It's hard for me to not think about the little time I have left with him. It aches. The knowing that every day I have a little less time before he is 18. Only 17 more of these short little blips of time we call years where he is mine and that someday, I will have to let him go. Someday, he will become someone elses. That knowledge is always somewhere in the back of my mind.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This little boy, little perfect angel baby, is so much of everything. So much work, so much noise, so messy and busy and so into everything. And so so so so so much joy. That is the word that describes this child to me the best. <span style="font-size: large;">Pure joy</span>. I don't think I have ever smiled as much as I have this past year. Every time he looks my way, I have to smile. To make sure he sees a happy mama. Or because he is already grinning at me. Or because I <i>need</i> to see him smile back at me. But mostly, because I can't help it.That's what his face does to me. Even if I am in a depressed, stressed out place, that is what seeing his little face does to my heart. It just instantly melts and there is nothing I can do about it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watching him never gets old. Seeing him play and talk gibberish to himself, and work things out in his mind is enthralling. And those moments where we watched him learn to hold his bottle, or roll over, or crawl or to put the ring on the stick without ever being shown how were more exciting and fascinating than I ever thought those things could be.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Being a mother has been an overwhelming rush of emotions. Many times I have felt my heart feel as if were about to burst at the seams with love, and at the same exact moment, unbearable aching because I could see him growing up more and more each day and being helpless to slow it down.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">It's a roller-coaster, being a mother. A beautiful, wonderful roller-coaster. At times it has been a very difficult battle that I wasn't sure I could go through ever again. Those thoughts came during the intense lows that are postpartum. After the sleepless nights where he refused to sleep and preferred to cry for hours upon hours. After wrestling him to sleep night after night before finally giving in to letting him cry it out alone in his crib. And after what was the disaster of breastfeeding which was, to be frank, a traumatizing nightmare that partly prevented me from bonding with my baby.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Since getting off of the postpartum part of the ride, things have been a lot easier and more stable. Although I do see the importance of having such intense highs and lows after having a baby. Mostly. I think I could have bonded just fine even without the not-being-able-to-get-through-a-single-verse-of-Baby-Mine-without-bursting-into-tears-with-overwhelming-feelings-of-"I love him so muh-huh-huch" levels of love.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="http://media.giphy.com/media/SdPidPBOVOQzS/giphy.gif" class="decoded" src="http://media.giphy.com/media/SdPidPBOVOQzS/giphy.gif" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />But that was a real part of it and I will never forget the first time I laid my tiny newborn down next to me for a nap at home, in his tiny onesie and mittens and for the first time out-of-womb, sang him Baby Mine as he went to sleep. His eyes were closed and a smile crossed his face as if he recognized it from the many times I sang it to my growing baby bump.That single moment will go down in my personal history as a very important moment. Because I waited for what seems like a very long time to sing that song to my own baby as they drifted off to sleep in my own arms.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mcgxlcPj43w/U5Fdl3pcW5I/AAAAAAAAA6I/l45cwiWxy7s/s1600/Tiny+Soy+Bean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mcgxlcPj43w/U5Fdl3pcW5I/AAAAAAAAA6I/l45cwiWxy7s/s1600/Tiny+Soy+Bean.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Another moment that sticks out is a little more recent. A month or so ago I brought Soy Bean in from playing in his kiddie pool and brought him in the shower with me. He sat on the floor as I washed us both up and then I picked him up. My sweet, energetic boy laid his head down on my shoulder as he felt the warm water fall on his back. He stayed like that for a while before we got out. I wrapped him in his towel (towel-wrapped babies are decidedly my favorite form of baby) and I sat down with him on my lap. His head continued to rest on my shoulder, but every few moments he would quietly look up at me and smile. Just smile as he studied my eyes, and then he would lay his head back down on my shoulder. He did this over and over. I could see the love he has for me in his big blue eyes, pouring out to me.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Saying that I am blessed to be able to have this little soul in my care is a very big understatement.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Watching Cody become a father has been absolutely amazing. He is and will continue to be a great daddy to Sawyer. He is such an awesome role model and I know Cody is going to teach him how to be a good, hardworking man. He knows how to make Sawyer laugh uncontrollably and can always make mundane situations into fun, hilarious, silly time.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kdo89bWac3Y/U5FXrA1zWUI/AAAAAAAAA5g/U8JuD3lZll8/s1600/IMGP1847.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kdo89bWac3Y/U5FXrA1zWUI/AAAAAAAAA5g/U8JuD3lZll8/s1600/IMGP1847.jpg" height="428" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MixgPuuq-OA/U5FY6UnzrAI/AAAAAAAAA5w/qc3Mu62pr0w/s1600/daddy+and+baby+hats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MixgPuuq-OA/U5FY6UnzrAI/AAAAAAAAA5w/qc3Mu62pr0w/s1600/daddy+and+baby+hats.jpg" height="640" width="442" /></a></div><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Photo by <a href="http://www.rgardnerphotographs.com/" target="_blank">R.Gardner Photographs</a></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Sawyer, I love you more than life and this past year has meant everything to me. We will always love you unconditionally. Happy Birthday, little one.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7GqQAzFXnNU/U5FdnYTVyfI/AAAAAAAAA6U/AdsShwe_PSM/s1600/Happy+Soy+Bean+11+Months.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7GqQAzFXnNU/U5FdnYTVyfI/AAAAAAAAA6U/AdsShwe_PSM/s1600/Happy+Soy+Bean+11+Months.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-7098349318791264272013-08-20T00:40:00.003-06:002013-08-20T00:40:57.496-06:00Sawyer is 2 months old! Good things and not so great things about my new job as a mama...<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507411074/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2382 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2382" height="428" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2829/9507411074_475a0598bd_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My baby is already two months old. It is so weird to now be dressing him in 3-6 month clothing (some of which he is already too big for!) and finding size newborn diapers in my bag and seeing how tiny his bum once was. Luckily my hormones have settled down, otherwise I would be tearing up at this thought (which sometimes happens anyway).&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While the time has flown by, it also somehow feels like it has been a really long time since we brought him home from the hospital and life changed forever. Not in a bad way or anything. It's just that so much has happened in such a small amount of time. I guess just having a baby makes the time go by slower for me and memories of the early tiny newborn days are already fading which makes it feel like it was a while ago.&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I am still trying to get the hang of things but I have figured a lot of it out. Of course, when I think this, that is right when he changes things up and the guessing game begins again. Every day is a guessing game. That is one thing about my new job as a mother that I don't love. Unlike the jobs I have had in the past, I feel that I can't really "refine" my skills as a mom. Although I am most certainly better at it than I was in the first weeks with him, I still feel like I can't really progress and actually become good at it. That drives me crazy. Once I think I understand an aspect of this baby thing, suddenly things change and I once again have no clue! I never realized that I have a need to perfect my skills until this experience.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Things have gotten a lot better though from the first 6 weeks of his life. I was really struggling with breastfeeding and had to give it up despite giving it my absolute best effort, not to mention baby blues. Since then, life is happier. A lot of things didn't go as planned and I have found that I need to be more prepared for the alternatives because so far, things tend to go differently than what's expected. I planned on carrying him pretty late as that is how it is for a lot of my family. He ended up coming 3 days early and Cody had to go back to work waaay earlier than I wanted because of this. I planned to have a normal birth and wanted to avoid a C-section as much as I could. And what happened? Sawyer was breech and a C-section it was. Then I was SO TOTALLY going to breastfeed for 1 year, and now I am shelling out the big bucks for formula. Ha, yeah, plans are pretty useless.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The biggest challenge I am facing right now is... can you guess it? Sleep!&nbsp;This is one of those things that just keeps changing on me.&nbsp;Sawyer is SO TOUGH when it comes to falling asleep. It seems like every time he gets tired, I have to go through this whole ordeal that takes SO LONG to just get him to settle down and stop fussing and let sleep come. It's like wrestling an alligator. An alligator that screams. He used to fall asleep easily and now it's a bit of a nightmare and I am not sure what to do. Sorry for seeming so negative! I am just in the thick of things I guess and so that is all I can think about.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;Sawyer was waking up twice in the middle of the night for feedings, then he dropped one of those feeds and I was getting pretty used to only waking up once. Well then he went back to two! That was so frustrating. Then after a while, when I thought I couldn't take anymore sleep deprivation, he started sleeping through the night for about 6 or 7 hours. That was amazing, for about a week. The night I announced my triumphant success to Facebook was the night he woke up at 3am and has been ever since. Babies really keep you on your toes. And as my sister says, babies are not robots. As obvious as that is, I often have to remind myself of it when I wonder why he isn't sleeping through the night the way a book says he should, or whatever the case may be. I can't "program" him the way I might like. I can try my best with sleep-training through structured schedules, but I can't be too surprised when he suddenly takes a step or two backwards, because he's not a robot, and that is just how babies are.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507404692/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2399 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2399" height="453" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5458/9507404692_dd5452b6e8_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So to sum up, life pretty much revolves around sleep. When did he go down? How long did he sleep? When can I sleep and for how long? Most of the time I am so tired and unsure of when he will wake up that sleep just won't happen. And if I do get a chance to sleep for more than 2 or 3 hours, I wake up thinking I hear him on the monitor, when really he is fast asleep and I am hearing it in my head, and now I am wide awake for no reason. My body has gotten so used to not sleeping for significant chunks of time that it won't let it happen when I have the chance. I know I am a chronic worrier, but is it normal at this point to still jump every time the monitor makes a noise? Or am I really just <i>that </i>high strung? Ugh. If only I could just be that "chill mom" I wanted to be. But I guess I can't be too hard on myself. I have been sleep deprived for a while and in my mind, that is a pretty good reason for my stomach to lurch a little when I see him waking up early. Which happens a lot now. Help me. Haha.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BuLNarQNMXo/Ugw52aAVUdI/AAAAAAAAA40/n8NNi8moZA0/s1600/monitor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-BuLNarQNMXo/Ugw52aAVUdI/AAAAAAAAA40/n8NNi8moZA0/s640/monitor.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Okay on to the good things. Sawyer has been intentionally smiling for over a month now, and has recently started to "talk" to us. My favorite parts of the day are when we finish feeding him, and I sit him facing me, and he makes so many cute little sounds and smiles at me and I smile and talk back and we take turns like that for a while. It is awesome. I just can't wait to hear that first little giggle. I also love to go get him out of his crib because he usually will look up at me and be so happy! He is also much happier than he was in the first month. I don't know if its normal or not, but he was pretty fussy for the first month of life. If he wasn't eating or sleeping, he was crying. Maybe it's because I have things down a little better and I know sort of what he wants, but he is a pretty happy fellow most of the time now (except for sleep time), and that is such a relief. It is also really cool to see him developing. Just simple things like when I see him looking at his hand or foot for the first time. I can see him putting things together in his head and it is awesome to watch.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">With every day that goes by, I love this baby more and more. He is my little buddy. Even though this mothering thing is tough business, the good moments make it worth it. It's pretty cool that I get to hang out with such a cute dude all day.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504592647/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2411 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2411" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7281/9504592647_aff2a20f74_z.jpg" width="454" /></a></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-89909577273861034612013-08-16T22:47:00.001-06:002013-08-16T22:47:09.333-06:00Bits and Pieces - My Bedroom<br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is my bedroom. I wish I spent more time in here, because that would mean I got more sleep. But you know... babies. Pshh.<br /><br />This is basically the prettiest my bedroom has ever looked. At all of our other places the room just didn't quite look that great. This bedroom is something I am proud of. It's grown up. I feel like it definitely has some feminine touches to it but is masculine enough to not make my husband feel out of place. Mostly because of the GIANT furniture pieces he made. When Cody makes something, I always have to prepare myself for it to be bigger than expected. And yet every time a furniture piece is revealed, I am taken aback. I mean, look at that bed! I couldn't even fit it all into one photo. I have hurt myself multiple times trying to climb down from that thing. Cody makes me the prettiest things.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9513921424/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2419 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2419" height="428" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7443/9513921424_26bfc9f2fa_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the armoire that Cody made for us. We were lucky that we were able to fit these things in this room.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511127811/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2421 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2421" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7440/9511127811_55bc9e5149_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9513872268/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2442 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2442" height="507" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3751/9513872268_3403cc085e_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511119613/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2427 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2427" height="428" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5450/9511119613_d17ff19c34_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I keep my jewelry over here in a jewelry box that was my grandmas, and on a vintage tiered plate I bought for my wedding reception. Next to it sits a little vintage owl music box.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511080179/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2424 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2424" height="428" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7364/9511080179_7008515470_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On this wall hangs my necklaces on a jewelry hanger that Cody got me for my last birthday.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511112433/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2428 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2428" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7422/9511112433_3fb730e6be_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511102941/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2430 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2430" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2826/9511102941_ed8829555d_z.jpg" width="448" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511096803/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2432 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2432" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5527/9511096803_f06a2d15e6_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">These side tables are temporary. Cody will eventually make matching ones for us.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9513875860/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2434 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2434" height="428" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7404/9513875860_ba679b0bab_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the book hook that he made for me. These posts are pretty much just a bunch of stuff that Cody made, aren't they? Well, he is quite the carpenter.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511079291/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2435 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2435" height="518" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5517/9511079291_4240dbdf3c_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9513866998/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2446 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2446" height="428" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3789/9513866998_1218f7d46b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">As with most of the rooms in the house, this one isn't quite finished. For the past year I have been working on art pieces for what I call the "Love Wall." Basically one of the walls in our room will be dedicated to a collection of art and quotes and such that will be clustered together to form an ode to marriage and love. I have all the pieces done, but 2 of them still need glass for the frames (Cody made frames for a couple of them) and since we had a baby, I can't justify going to buy the glass. He also needs to cut some wood to fit a vinyl quote on it and that just isn't going to happen anytime soon since we moved and all.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Someday though, the love wall will exist, I tell you! And I will document it here.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-74673651428603715492013-08-15T21:30:00.000-06:002013-08-15T21:30:43.869-06:00Bits and Pieces - The Guest Room<br /><div style="text-align: center;">This is my cute and cozy little guest room. We put a chocolate brown accent wall in here as well because I wanted the blue side tables to really pop against the dark background. The guest room in the <a href="http://theginamonologues.blogspot.com/2010/02/photo-tag.html" target="_blank">old house</a> was my favorite room, but I like this one even more. When I walk past it I want to take a nap in there because it looks so comfy, so hopefully my guests feel the same. Apparently my cat, Assassin sure does.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507420530/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2346 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2346" height="428" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2850/9507420530_07ecbb0bcf_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504597755/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2351 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2351" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5348/9504597755_3200f3d4ff_z.jpg" width="449" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I made these dream catchers out of antique lace doilies. I took thick gauge craft wire used for wreathes, bent them into a circle the size of the doily, and then wrapped them in leather string, hot gluing as I went. That was the hardest part. Then I just found bits of lace and feathers and strung beads and tied them on.</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504619485/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2353 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2353" height="640" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3763/9504619485_7d7d20cfee_z.jpg" width="634" /></a></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-39594890048615055232013-08-15T12:11:00.001-06:002013-08-15T12:11:24.702-06:00Bits and Pieces - My Living Room<br />The living room is where we spend most of our time. It's where we feed and play with Sawyer, watch movies and TV, and generally just hang out. I like the look and feel of our new living room more than the old one. The old one was pretty dated despite our efforts, and we couldn't do very much to change it as renters. I really feel like the new one is more us and feels a lot cozier. But the new place doesn't have random built in shelving, and this makes me really worry about the holidays. Where the heck am I going to put my halloweeny witchy stuff, and my Christmas nutcrackers and snowmen!? Conundrum. Questions like these keep me up at night.<br /><br />Anyway, here is our entryway. We painted all the walls in here a sandy beige type color, except this wall. This is our chocolate brown accent wall. When we get our family photos done, they will go to the left of the chalkboard, in the same type of display is the <a href="http://theginamonologues.blogspot.com/2011/01/family-wall.html" target="_blank">old one</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507455942/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2333 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2333" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5474/9507455942_1df6abaed7_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I begged Cody to let us get this buffet table to go under our new TV. It has been sitting in a box (just like the &nbsp;new TV) at our old place for months. When we moved, I was so excited to get these out of their boxes. It was like Christmas!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507450426/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2334 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2334" height="481" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2824/9507450426_96f3764f1a_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My beloved peacock chair.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504650353/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2337 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2337" height="640" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5447/9504650353_373b6e65b9_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I put this shelf display together when I was about 37 weeks pregnant. Climbing up on a ladder as a fat pumpkin person is pretty interesting. But decorations must go up, no matter the conditions!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507436946/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2340 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2340" height="428" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7305/9507436946_b542c4bd90_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9511138803/" title="IMGP2417 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2417" height="428" src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5331/9511138803_b8627d408d_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Not a great photo of it, but Cody made the coffee table. Cody also made this floating shelf for me last Christmas. He made the frame on the right for our first Christmas as a married couple for me to fill with a photo of the temple. I wanted to get a photo of the Salt Lake temple, where we were married and sealed. I didn't get around to taking a photo until last fall, and I didn't edit and print it until last winter! Finally it is done and hanging up in our family room.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507441346/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2339 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2339" height="404" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3828/9507441346_8b2183a8b9_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-57072575545421424592013-08-14T15:59:00.001-06:002013-08-14T15:59:40.359-06:00Bits and Pieces - My crafty craft areaThe craft area of my house looks a little chaotic, but it is controlled chaos. I have everything I need in this space for sewing, painting, scrapbooking, making jewelry, and a heck of a lot of hot gluing, and most of it is fairly organized. Cody made the necklace hanger that hangs above my desk where I keep my <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/MoxieOwlDesigns" target="_blank">Moxie Owl</a> necklaces. A shelf above that holds jars with the jewelry making supplies as well as some stuffed animals that my sister Aimee and I made.<br /><br />To the left of my desk are some shelves from ikea where I keep a lot of my sewing supplies like fabric and stuffing, painting supplies, and a lot of random parts from un-finished projects.<br /><br />To the right is the cabinet that Cody made me to hold my camera and scrapbooking stuff and books. Oh yeah, and <a href="http://theginamonologues.blogspot.com/2010/03/robot-love.html" target="_blank">robot heads</a>. Gotta have the robot heads.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507474606/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2323 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2323" height="428" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3773/9507474606_c5bbcbe70b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507469106/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2324 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2324" height="427" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3822/9507469106_52187dc385_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This cabinet is basically just for our record albums which consists of a lot of classic rock like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin and The Doors (from Cody's collection) and random Rogers and Hammerstein and Disney and Carpenters Christmas music (from my collection). Ironically, I prefer the classic rock and Cody is partial to the Sound of Music album. (Ha!) Oh, this cabinet also displays our goat skull. Cody's mom brought it home after exploring the desert wilderness and there it sits. Oh yeah, and there is my guitar to the right! Cody painted it, stenciled some flowers and OUR FACES on it, and gave it to me for... I'm going to say birthday number 21. Maybe 20. Anyway, a birthday. And it is pretty kick-ass, no?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507463492/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2329 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2329" height="640" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3724/9507463492_03eff6b2bf_z.jpg" width="443" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I made the wall hanging below out of felt and free hand stitching. It is punny. Bare, Bear, GET IT?! Oh, man.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504663235/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2330 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2330" height="428" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2826/9504663235_b7050ed24b_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-31046926585406588072013-08-13T22:56:00.000-06:002013-08-13T22:56:17.258-06:00Bits and Pieces - My House<div style="text-align: center;">I have pretty much finished {most} of my house. I love being able to do what I want to it and make it my own. Here are some of the details of my kitchen and dining area.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">One of the things I really wanted to do was to have one of the cabinets be open with no doors. This way I can be creative and show some of my favorite dishes off instead of hiding them away.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504691477/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2315 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2315" height="640" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/9504691477_5b14c2c38f_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In my old kitchen I had kind of an owl theme going on so I kept this as the general kitchen theme at my new place as well.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504683861/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2318 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2318" height="451" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3784/9504683861_701a2e26ac_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I got these owl salt and pepper shakers from a local antique shop and the owl below is a little vintage planter thing I found on Etsy.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504696697/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2311 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2311" height="428" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2879/9504696697_85d185d3da_z.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504602005/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2310 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2310" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2838/9504602005_54a0778f85_z.jpg" width="442" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My life involves a lot of washing bottles nowadays. This bottle drying rack is awesome. It is made by boon and I got it at Target.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507477708/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2322 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2322" height="640" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3717/9507477708_b6674e344f_z.jpg" width="433" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I saw the idea of taking wooden spoons and utensils and painting them to make them look like they have been dipped in color. I found the utensils at Ikea and Target and then just mixed acrylic paint until I found colors that I liked. I taped off the handles with painters tape and painted them with a brush. You can't really tell in this photo, but I made a few of them "ombre." The green one starts out dark green at the top and fades to a lighter green. I seriously love how this little shelf area turned out. Oh, and the flower salt and pepper shakers below are also from an antique store.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507400960/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2308 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2308" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2872/9507400960_9432dcaa24_z.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In this new house we have very little storage space, so I spent a lot of time thinking of ways to really utilize the space. I got railings from ikea with little hooks to keep kitchen supplies on. Then it turned out that the one and only thing we have more of in this house is kitchen cabinets. But I still like how these look on the wall, especially since they match the "orange and blue" colors I have throughout the area.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9504630649/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2345 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2345" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2819/9504630649_3edd86bac6_z.jpg" width="428" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A place for my aprons. One of them is vintgage and the one that is blue and red was made my Lindy, my cousin-in-law. She's super crafty.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507483592/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2317 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2317" height="640" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2825/9507483592_14bd8a128b_z.jpg" width="396" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And finally, my kitchen table.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/9507430900/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="IMGP2344 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="IMGP2344" height="640" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3667/9507430900_1574009c97_z.jpg" width="460" /></a></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-50608677003771214902013-07-15T12:10:00.000-06:002013-07-15T12:10:10.758-06:00My long awaited laundry roomSo remember how I was all excited for my laundry room plans when we moved? Today I finally put the finishing touches on it and it is done. I LOVE it. It's weird how much I love a room meant for chores, but I do.<br /><br />Check it out!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aSUvqVBapzk/UeMixoheP4I/AAAAAAAAA4A/1BTjk6i9ZoM/s1600/photo+3+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aSUvqVBapzk/UeMixoheP4I/AAAAAAAAA4A/1BTjk6i9ZoM/s640/photo+3+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The color scheme of orange and blue that seems to be carried through most of the house is what I went with in the laundry room as well. How awesome is the orange pocket door?! Thank you, Cody. :)</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_LM4EC6OAWs/UeMi0Khm3II/AAAAAAAAA4Q/A8AFods6txg/s1600/photo+4+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_LM4EC6OAWs/UeMi0Khm3II/AAAAAAAAA4Q/A8AFods6txg/s640/photo+4+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">It is so much more organized than my old laundry space. Cody attached small canning jars to the bottom of a shelf to hold hardware such as nails and screws. I got large jars for detergent and other cleaning supplies and labeled them with chalk board label stickers.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YbXksWFxD6s/UeMiztknM6I/AAAAAAAAA4I/0-r8Lts9yYI/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YbXksWFxD6s/UeMiztknM6I/AAAAAAAAA4I/0-r8Lts9yYI/s640/photo+3.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I wanted a place for tools that we use inside the house, so this shelf is dedicated to tools and the like.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5cB5-W33pgk/UeMi10haEVI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/2agFjpr43UM/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5cB5-W33pgk/UeMi10haEVI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/2agFjpr43UM/s640/photo+4.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I used a railing from Ikea to hang my cleaning supplies on. I seriously love this feature. It is so much easier to find stuff this way. Ah! I love my laundry room!</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tJmFhm3SESc/UeMi5iWxj5I/AAAAAAAAA4g/tH9xUWmoLYQ/s1600/photo+5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-tJmFhm3SESc/UeMi5iWxj5I/AAAAAAAAA4g/tH9xUWmoLYQ/s640/photo+5.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-7949237390500918052013-07-14T17:08:00.000-06:002013-07-14T17:08:26.054-06:00I'm still aliveHello!<br /><br />I am still alive. I have found that doing anything like blogging is really hard to get around to. I do plan to continue blogging but I still haven't quite got the hang of doing much other than feeding, changing, and soothing baby to sleep. Ooh, the elusive sleep. But someday I will hopefully to update this thing on the regular.<br /><br />So life is different now, obviously. I'm tired and still adjusting to the shock of this new lifestyle. Being a mama is both beautiful and not so beautiful. And I was definitely right about the poop. There is a lot of poop. And pee. More pee than I expected, if I'm being honest. I have been peed on more than I care to admit.<br /><br />At first things were pretty scary. I have no idea what I am doing and sleep deprivation really got to me. I dealt with "baby blues" which consisted of the highest of highs where I felt such intense love for this little human, and super low lows as well. But now that <i>most</i> of the hormones have worn off and I have gotten over the initial shock of things, I feel like I am getting the hang of it (sort of) and starting to catch my breath (kind of).<br /><br />Sawyer's birth went differently than planned. Monday I worked my last day at the office, and the next day, 3 days before I was due, I got my membranes swept. I didn't feel much different afterwords and did not expect anything to happen, but that night I started to have the usual &nbsp;nightly contractions. I felt the need to clean the house as much as I could that night. I mopped and vacuumed and then went to bed pretty late. I was laying in bed, scanning through Facebook, when all of a sudden at 2 am I felt a big pop as if Sawyer kicked me and a huge waterfall suddenly came out of me. I exclaimed to Cody that my water just broke. He was asleep and when he heard me he jumped up and started putting his pants on, still half asleep. It was adorable. I told him to hang on and get me a towel. Seriously, it was a never-ending gush of water and I couldn't move or even more would come out!<br /><br />Since I wasn't having very strong contractions yet, I didn't want to go to the hospital and not be very far along. I planned to labor as much as I could at home. So I told Cody to go back to sleep and for the rest of the night I did have some contractions, but they never got very bad. We went to labor and delivery the next morning. They checked me and I was at a 5. I was pretty excited about this. And hour later they checked me again and I was a 6. But the nurse seemed a little confused and said that she didn't feel his head anymore. They did an ultrasound and though Sawyer had been head down for weeks and weeks, he decided to flip when it was go time. Since my water had broke, they couldn't attempt to flip him. The doctor said I would have to get a C-section and that we would be parents within the hour. Ah! I had expected to be laboring for quite a bit longer, so this was a scary shock!<br /><br />The worst part of the surgery was getting the epidural. I was expecting to get one at a point where it would be a sweet relief. But since I wasn't in much pain, it was super uncomfortable and painful, and seemed to take forever.<br /><br />The rest was like a dream. I felt a little disconnected and weird. Cody sat by me and held my hand while they worked on getting our baby out. Sawyer was pulled out and I didn't get to see him for a while. I wanted to see what he looked like SO BAD! He needed help breathing at first and they took him out into the hall to get him going. Cody followed and watched him get cleaned up. I heard them exclaiming how big he was. One of the nurses guessed 9 pounds. A few minutes later they said he was 10 lbs 6 oz! I suddenly felt a little better about not pushing him out of my vagina. Then Cody brought him to me. I kissed Sawyer and tears rolled down my face. I wanted to hold him!<br /><br />We went back to our room and they found out that since he was so big, he had low blood sugar. Because they couldn't get him to eat, they had to take him to the NICU where they were going to have to give him a feeding tube. Before they did that though, they tried feeding him again and he sucked down a whole bottle.<br /><br />We were only there for 2 days and the recovery went really easy. The first week at home was pretty blissful, even though the nights weren't that much fun. I was just so happy to have this beautiful little family. It was like &nbsp;heaven.<br /><br />Cody stayed home from work for a week and helped out so much. One of my favorite parts of becoming a mama is watching Cody take so naturally to being a papa. He is an amazing daddy and jumped right in with no fear.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEacCib74Y8/UeMiptOnVYI/AAAAAAAAA3c/fy7BAQr-ZVM/s1600/photo+1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pEacCib74Y8/UeMiptOnVYI/AAAAAAAAA3c/fy7BAQr-ZVM/s640/photo+1.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EhlMZEALsGE/UeMi6JZG0BI/AAAAAAAAA4k/8D_WN75M7kM/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EhlMZEALsGE/UeMi6JZG0BI/AAAAAAAAA4k/8D_WN75M7kM/s640/photo.JPG" width="480" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5quc7aQCHv4/UeMir6lDV1I/AAAAAAAAA3k/z9cooKZaK1Q/s1600/photo+1+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5quc7aQCHv4/UeMir6lDV1I/AAAAAAAAA3k/z9cooKZaK1Q/s640/photo+1+(2).JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-46bCXoTFEEI/UeMit7bXr6I/AAAAAAAAA3w/2noY45WkBKc/s1600/photo+2+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-46bCXoTFEEI/UeMit7bXr6I/AAAAAAAAA3w/2noY45WkBKc/s640/photo+2+%25282%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-65750731478985633252013-05-31T12:03:00.000-06:002013-05-31T12:03:09.762-06:00My thoughts at 39 weeks<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8903254347/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="39 Weeks by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="39 Weeks" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2886/8903254347_5805b2350d_z.jpg" height="640" width="418" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Me, this morning, at 39 weeks pregnant. </div><br />I can't believe it. It is the last day of May 2013. In my brain, it's still about February and I still have months to go before I have to worry about pushing a little human out of my body and becoming a mother to him. In reality, next week is my due date and things are moving at light speed.<br /><br />This is one of my last weeks where I am just me, a 25 year old girl who still feels to be about 18 and certainly does not act like an adult. I'm aware that I am actually a pretty helpless person. I have a lot of learning and growing to do. Honestly, I can barely even make mac and cheese by myself. Yes, things are certainly about to change, whether I am ready or not. I will be completely responsible for another life. A little soul that God has trusted us with. A little person that I know I will obsess over and worry about every day for the rest of my life. Our world is about to make a major shift. A shift that I am most definitely excited about, but there's so much unknown. I really don't know much about babies. All I have to go off of is just what I have been told. A lot of which sounds terrifying. "But so worth it." Right? That is the summary of what people say. It is SO HARD but so worth it. The so hard part is frightening. The so worth it part is why we got ourselves into this situation.<br /><br />Someone told Cody that babies seem really fragile, but are actually easier to keep alive than fish. I sure hope so, because I have gone through a lot of pet fish in my lifetime. I know I will be <i>ok</i>. I know he will be ok. We will get through the tough parts. I'm pretty sure of this. I am known for my exceptional ability to worry like none other, so that is just how it is going to be. But I will try my best to relax and breath and be a chill mom as much as I can be. That is one of my goals, anyway.<br /><br />So here is where I am right now, at 39 weeks pregnant: I am standing at the edge of the diving board, looking into a deep pool. I can't see the bottom. I can't turn around and climb down. The only way off is to jump. What will I find? From what I hear, probably a lot of poop. Literal poop. Exploding poop. And throw up. And crying, screaming babies. And sore boobies. And many, many sleepless nights and days filled with fatigue, and maybe even counting down the seconds until Cody gets home from work. This is the kind of thing you always hear about at this pool.<br /><br />But I am going to jump. And through the poop, I am going to find soft baby cheeks, and tiny saggy baby bums, and chubby leg rolls, and little adorable lips that I will kiss so much. And giggles and cuddles and so many hugs and loves.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">And it will be <i>awesome</i>.&nbsp;</div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />And then, I will make sure that my baby grows up to not be so helpless, and by golly, he will know how to make mac n cheese!<br /><br /><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-29343830163947437952013-05-29T11:52:00.000-06:002013-05-29T11:52:30.962-06:00Bumpday Bumpdate - Week 38This week I am 38 weeks along and feeling it. It's not so bad yet. I haven't had very many Braxton Hicks, except last night they got a little painful for a while. But I can see how pregnant ladies who do have those false labor pains on a regular basis could get sick of this pretty fast.<br /><br />The #1 thing I hear from people at this point are things like "About ready to pop, huh?" or "I bet you are so ready to be done." Up until last weekend, the answer was "Heck no! The baby can stay in there, I am not ready!!!" Now that I have really gotten somewhere with the nursery and packed some of my hospital bag, I am definitely more open to the baby coming now, but I am still in no hurry. Life will be changing forever, and I still have a lot to do to prepare. But I have washed and put away all of the laundry for baby, we have the crib and bedding done, and it is really coming together in there and looking like a real live nursery.<br /><br />Today Cody will be starting to work on picture frames for some of the art I found for the nursery, as well as a painting my mom did. Hopefully he will be building some wall book shelves for all of the books I have for the Soy Bean as well. I can't wait to read to him!<br /><br />In moving news, the house is getting a lot better. I have tons and tons of boxes unpacked and put away, and guess what? The A/C has decided to start working. The unit outside makes a really loud noise that sounds like what can only be described as Bigfoot yawning. It freaks me out every time, and I am pretty sure that sound isn't supposed to happen, but as of now, it is working, and that is heaven. I can't even tell you how much better my perspective on life is when my house is a normal temperature. I love my house a lot more now.<br /><br />When I am on my way home, I still sort of have this longing feeling for the other house, because we were there for quite a while and it did become "home" to us, plus my grandparents lived there and that was somehow comforting to me, despite the perpetual old person smell. Now I pass that house, and go to a new one that is not "home" quite yet. It feels weird. Someday though, I will feel more comfortable in the new house and it will become home for my little family and me. For now, I just jump at every night time sound that happens, and freak out a little if my lulu dog barks. I have a hard time adjusting to new houses! Especially because I am alone at night every other week. It took me about a year with the last house to feel okay, and even after that I would go through periods of time where I was sure (and STILL am) that a ghosty presence was messing with me. At this house, so far what I worry about are doors getting left unlocked and intruders coming in, or wanderers in my back yard, watching me unpack at night because I feel like someone is looking at me. And also fires happening. I am really paranoid about that lately. It's not like this house has been inspected and who knows if there is something waiting to explode? I am a worrier.<br /><br />Here are my weekly stats!<br /><br /><b>How far along:</b> 38 Weeks<br /><br /><b>Size of baby:</b> 20-ish inches and pumpkin sized.<br /><br /><b>Gender:</b> Boy!<br /><br /><b>Maternity Clothes: </b>Pretty much just wearing long dresses most of the time. Today though, I am wearing one of my sisters hand-me-downs that I forgot about until I found it the other day. I wish I had worn it sooner! It is really cute and work appropriate. All I can wear on my feet are flip flops as they are constantly swollen.<br /><br /><b>Stretch Marks:</b> Still getting more!<br /><br /><b>Sleep:</b> The original restless insomnia flavor, now with contractions!<br /><br /><b>Cravings:</b> Watermelon.<br /><br /><b>Looking forward to:</b> Still really really wanting work to be done. Especially when I wake up feeling zombified in the morning from crappy sleep. I never thought I would be the person who works up until 4 days before my due date and I think that ideally, last week should have been my last. But I get to spend more time with work friends, and thats what is keeping me going! <span style="font-size: x-small;">Along with paychecks, of course.</span><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: small;"><b>What I miss:</b> Moving and bending without wimpering in pain and losing my breath.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Symptoms:</b> Some recognizable, painful contractions. As of yesterday, I am 2 centimeters dilated and about 60% effaced. The doctor wants to sweep my membranes next week, but I know that Cody and I are not ready for that to happen if it actually worked. We are really trying to work this birth around Cody's schedule and it's a lot of pressure!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Worst moment this week:</b> Probably the night that I unpacked and put away so much crap that my body rebelled against me and I was in TONS of PAIN all night.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Best moment this week:</b> Seeing things like the living room, kitchen, bathroom, guest room and most of all the nursery actually look like livable, pretty spaces. It is a huge relief to have the important nursery stuff done. </span><br /><br /><br /><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-3938327023104347932013-05-28T12:51:00.000-06:002013-05-28T12:51:30.518-06:00Shopping for Baby<br />Last month I finally got to start <span style="font-size: large;">shopping</span> for my <span style="font-size: large;">baby</span>. Cody wanted to wait until we had enough money to just put it all in its own baby-dedicated account, and then let me spend it on what we needed. It was really hard to wait, but finally buying everything was pretty fun.<br /><br />Here are a few of the items I got for the bebe:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Bear clock<a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/LeLuni?ref=seller_info" target="_blank"></a>. The one I got is orange, though.<br /><br /><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img0.etsystatic.com/008/1/6516192/il_570xN.378024008_5ozj.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="The &quot;Big Bear in Red&quot; designer wall mounted clock from LeLuni" border="0" height="400" src="https://img0.etsystatic.com/008/1/6516192/il_570xN.378024008_5ozj.jpg" width="400" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cowboys and Indians Wall Decal.<a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/115203299/small-cowboys-indians-wall-stickers?ref=shop_home_active" target="_blank"></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;&nbsp; </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img1.etsystatic.com/001/0/5161156/il_570xN.396053665_9ez2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Small Cowboys &amp; Indians Wall Stickers" border="0" height="564" src="https://img1.etsystatic.com/001/0/5161156/il_570xN.396053665_9ez2.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Baby closet dividers. They are from newborn all the way up to 24 months. I like organization kind of a lot lately and these are helping a lot.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://img0.etsystatic.com/011/0/7889806/il_570xN.452382596_khon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Custom Baby Closet Dividers Boy Closet Organizers Blue Brown Modern Closet Dividers Baby Shower Gift Baby Boy Nursery 007" border="0" src="https://img0.etsystatic.com/011/0/7889806/il_570xN.452382596_khon.jpg" width="570" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">An orange humidifier.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img alt="Crane Drop Ultrasonic Cool Mist Humidifier - Orange " class="photo" src="http://Img2.targetimg2.com/wcsstore/TargetSAS//img/p/13/14/13145614.jpg" height="410" id="heroImage" itemprop="image" width="410" /> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />Some cute "burpy bibs" by Aden + Anais. They double as burp clothes and bibs and from what I hear are awesome.</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://bersih.taqobbal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/aden-anais-aden-anais-muslin-burpy-bib-azure-leafy.jpg" height="400" id="irc_mi" style="margin-top: 61px;" width="400" />&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /><br />And a Boon diaper Changing Station. I love Boon stuff.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="http://kidcrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/fresh-baby-changing-station.jpeg" height="288" id="irc_mi" style="margin-top: 44px;" width="400" /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The rest of the stuff I got is practical and boring but pretty exciting to me. I also finally convinced Cody that he was not going to have time to build a crib anytime soon and I was able to fit one from Wal-Mart into my budget, which I am pretty proud of. Go me. It is small (for the tiny nursery space) and modern and I love it.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">A lot of the stuff that I ended up getting is pretty modern-styled, as you can see. In the beginning, the nursery was to be very rustic and vintage, and there will still be a lot of those elements in the decor. Hopefully I am right, and the two different styles will mesh well together. </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;I also got lots of baby books and some Baby Einstein DVD's. We are also blessed enough to have received a lot of good gifts and hand-me-downs that are pretty much saving me right now. I can't wait to use all this stuff with my new little guy!<br /><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-74310805597405890492013-05-24T12:19:00.001-06:002013-05-24T12:19:44.678-06:0038 Weeks - My Giant BellyIt is Friday and I am now at the 38 week mark! Only 2 weeks until the due date. I do not have my nursery done, I do not have my hospital bag packed. I looked at myself in the mirror yesterday and saw that my mid-section has grown horizontally quite a bit recently. I feel and look humungous. And I keep running it into things because I am not used to the extra inches I guess, plus there are kind of a lot of obstacles in the way in my house right now (boxes!) I feel bad for Sawyer getting all beat up in there because of my clumsy-ness.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">These photos are here to express my feelings of being so very large.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8805665343/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="38 Weeks 2 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="38 Weeks 2" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2861/8805665343_c3b3bd8e0a_z.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8805664837/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="38 Weeks 3 by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="38 Weeks 3" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7362/8805664837_7dbf5fd0b9_z.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8816249472/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="38 Weeks by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="38 Weeks" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2840/8816249472_8664b62b27_z.jpg" height="640" width="480" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-30701295313773024502013-05-23T11:09:00.002-06:002013-05-23T11:09:27.595-06:00Adventures in Home Ownership<br />Let me just start out by saying that I actually <span style="font-size: large;"><b>love</b></span> my house and I think it is the bomb and I know I am <i>blessed</i>.<br /><br /><br />However, just because you own a house, does not mean you have any money whatsoever. And owning something so big and grown up with so many things that could (and will) go wrong is a huge responsibility. This is new to me and will be an adjustment. We are about to cut our income in half and we are pretty much broke. To be honest, I am SO <b>scared</b>. Throw a newborn in the mix and you have yourself a recipe for a total panic attack. So, hate me all you want for complaining about it, but please keep in mind that I am under serious stress, plus, you know, hormones and stuff, and I need to talk about it.<br /><br />Here is what has happened so far in our new life as home-owners:<br /><br />The A/C or insulation or SOMETHING is not working right. It is hot. I live in Southern Utah. And being that it is only May, I am real real scared of it being August in that house. As of now, it is sometimes 80 degrees in the house. Just thinking about going home from work right now makes me feel a little bit like crying. Last night I couldn't take it anymore and had a total meltdown. I don't do well in heat, I guess. :) <br /><br />Next, we have bugs. Mostly just big roaches and tiny sugar ants. We thought we had the ant problem under control by using these ant baits, which work pretty well. But then. We left the dog food out. Last night I looked down at the dog food dish and there were about 500 ants all over it. We put 2 of those baits down and they were all over them in no time, and usually it takes them a couple of days to get into the poison. These little jerks are everywhere. I see them in every room. A couple of weeks ago, I put my bassinet in my bedroom. I walked into the room a few minutes later and there were ants crawling on it. That is disturbing.<br /><br />Half the sprinklers don't come on and we don't know why. The water softener leaks like crazy and things in the garage are rusting from it. And things generally just need to be replaced. I mean, the house was built in the 90's. Updating is definitely needed. Someone please tell me: why, at one point, was brass the coolest metal ever?<br /><br />And something I have discovered about myself in the last weeks: I don't know how to function without a central vac. I have had one for forever. How do I take care of bugs now? How do I clean stuff of of tall ceilings, or random places like the top of a couch? How do non-central vac owners do it??<br /><br />Lastly, I think someone reported our yard for not being mowed during the process of getting the house ready. It has been very well maintained for years. Then for about a month, when we were preparing the inside of the house, the lawn didn't get mowed quite as regularly. So the city code enforcers came by the house, took pictures of our lawn, and then sent them to us in a "courtesy notice" saying that they would be coming by to inspect the yard to make sure the problem is taken care of. The notice was for "weeds/fire hazardous materials." In reality, we just needed to mow the lawn but hadn't had a chance yet. Seriously. Green, admittedly shaggy grass. No weeds. Ok fine, ONE weed. A green one.<br /><br />To quote Drunk Uncle: <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">wwww.isthisreallyAmerica.questionmark.noitisn't.IMMIGRANTS</div><br /><br />You know, without the immigrants part.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2592gUoAF1qe3p9bo1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2592gUoAF1qe3p9bo1_500.gif" /></a></div><br />If someone did report us, that upsets me. I guess it is something that I wouldn't do to a neighbor unless their yard was being treated like a landfill AND the people were also rude. But to report us for some long grass (which we had already taken care of days before we received the notice) during a transition phase? Not to mention I have been out there mowing it in the heat with my giant pregnant belly and it's not like anyone offered to help, ya know? I would like to think that people in this community have the decency to think about what is going on in their neighbors lives before they call up the city and report them. But of course they don't. There is actually a yard kitty-corner from us that is mostly weeds. Our yard is nothing compared to that yard. I don't get how my shaggy grass could get reported while being two doors down from that yard. How does the city even see my yard and think, oh, yeah, this is a problem. Where is the camera? <br /><br />Ahhh. Anyway. I am trying to not assume that it was a neighbor that reported us, but it most likely was. That makes me feel unwelcome and uncomfortable on my own property. It was probably an old grumpy codger and someone that I don't need to waste energy worrying about. Because I know that most of the people who live around me are really good people, and would probably just come over and mow it themselves if it really bothered them.<br /><br />In conclusion, while there are things in this house that I can't stand, like tiny rooms and microscopic bathrooms and closets, I still do love so much about it. I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I really, really understand that it is a huge deal to have a house and that maybe you want to punch my face right now. Like I said, I am just scared out of my mind as to how we are going to afford it on no money. Did I mention that I am worried about money? And we are about to have a baby. And I have no money. I can't stress enough how much money we are about to NOT have. What do I do?<br /><br />But hey. When it is not 80 degrees in my living room, here are some things that I <span style="font-size: large;">love</span> about my house:<br /><br /><ul><li>My kitchen window. I love having a window in front of my kitchen sink. It overlooks the back yard. This morning the sunlight coming through was so pretty.</li><li>My walls. Cody painted them like a pro and they look great. I have had white walls all my life and was scared to put color on them, but now I can't imagine having white walls (although I do still totally appreciate some really clean white walls with white linens. That is usually my style).</li><li>My carpet. New carpet is awesome.</li><li>My beautiful kitchen. Cody painted the ugly oak cabinets white, the walls light blue, and the pocket doors to the laundry room and pantry a really cute "orange spice" color. I love those doors!</li><li>&nbsp;I have an actual pantry now instead of a glorified cupboard.</li><li>I have an awesome magnolia tree and it is in bloom right now.</li><li>There is a robin's nest in the backyard with little beaks sticking out of it. The mama robin is always hopping around the yard getting worms, and feeding them constantly. And in another tree there is a mama dove sitting on her nest that has little tiny squeeky bird sounds coming out of it! It's precious.</li><li>Ceiling fan in the bedroom. It's a big deal.</li><li>A shower that I can actually move in! <i>And</i> the shower head is <i>ABOVE</i> my head, another big deal for tall people.</li><li>It's ours. It is OUR HOUSE. A real live house. And I am about to start a family in it. That is pretty amazing.</li><li>&nbsp;Cody is there, and as long as that man is there, Everything is OK.</li></ul><br /><br />Also, this: <br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvrfnv6TOC1qazkdco1_500.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvrfnv6TOC1qazkdco1_500.gif" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><ul></ul>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-42057228627498270232013-05-22T12:41:00.001-06:002013-05-22T12:41:55.157-06:00Bumpday Bumpdate - Week 37Well, we are moved to the new house. Everything is in shambles and I feel like I am living in a hoarders house with the way I have to scoot around everything to get from room to room. But we made it!<br /><br />This week I am 37 weeks along and feeling very VERY swollen. The new house doesn't cool off so well and it is getting hotter and hotter outside. Yesterday and the day before, my feet and ankles became so swollen that I had a really hard time getting up from sitting because they couldn't bend. The doctor says everything still looks normal, the babies head is still down, and I am at about a 2 and 70% effaced. I think I have been feeling some really really mild braxton hicks contractions that give me a little crampy feeling. Exciting!<br /><br />I am getting more and more nervous about the labor process. The whole thing seems really overwhelming. I haven't even packed my hospital bag because everything is still in boxes, including my hospital bag packing list! haha. And I feel SO not ready still because I can barely even walk into the nursery due to it being so full of baby stuff that needs to be put together/organized. So please, baby boy, don't come out yet!<br /><br />Here are my weekly stats - <br /><br /><b>How far along:</b> 37 Weeks<br /><br /><b>Size of baby:</b> About 20 inches and 7 pounds.<br /><br /><b>Gender:</b> Boy<br /><br /><b>Maternity Clothes:</b> Clothes are so overrated. I WANT to feel cute, but I also just want to wear what is comfortable, which isn't the most flattering. It doesn't matter to me at this point. Comfort is essential.<br /><br /><b>Stretch Marks:</b> Now the stretch marks are getting FATTER. Yaaay.<br /><br /><b>Sleep:</b> I haven't slept much for a while. I know I am supposed to "get my sleep while I still can" but my body just doesn't allow that to happen. Especially with the stress of moving and dreams about everything that needs to get done.<br /><br /><b>Cravings:</b> Water.<br /><br /><b>Looking forward to:</b> No more work. It is so hard to go now and by the middle of the day I can't feel my feet because they are so swollen. Thank goodness I have an office job. How do those pregnant women who work in places that require standing and walking make it so far?? At the same time though, I will seriously miss a few people here, and it's actually going to be really hard to leave them.<br /><br /><b>What I miss:</b> Air conditioning that works. And it's only May!! What the heck am I going to do in August?<br /><br /><b>Symptoms:</b> Swelling beyond recognition. Sometimes I look down at my feet and they look like a 500 pound woman's feet, not mine. My feet hurt all the time. As do my hands which I guess is also due to swelling. My back is a little better though.<br /><br /><b>Worst moment this week:</b> Moving was the worst. Ever. EVER.<br /><br /><b>Best moment this week:</b> Monday was my birthday and we got to get out of the house and go to lunch and a movie. And we ate cheesecake. It was so nice just to spend time with Cody and <i>try</i> not to think about everything that needed to be unpacked. Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-70269768543735794962013-05-15T12:48:00.000-06:002013-05-15T12:48:51.500-06:00Bumpday Bumpdate - 36 Weeks<br />I am 36 weeks along. I haven't had any contractions (that I know of) and the doctor says I am about a centimeter dialated.<br /><br />I have been trying my best to pack boxes little by little, and I am excited/nervous to live in a different house. I will probably think it's haunted for a year or so, just cause that is how I roll. Meanwhile, things are getting moved into the nursery. We got the crib, finally, which we will set up next week, and I have done a little drawer organizing in the beautiful dresser Cody made for Sawyer.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rZxbUE03KxI/UZPVhy8wDgI/AAAAAAAAA3M/CclhP-EvUjc/s1600/Dresser+for+Soy+Bean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rZxbUE03KxI/UZPVhy8wDgI/AAAAAAAAA3M/CclhP-EvUjc/s1600/Dresser+for+Soy+Bean.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br />&nbsp;I bought a bunch of storage tupperwares and put them in some of the drawers. They hold diaper changing supplies and bath supplies and tiny shoes and socks and burp cloths and all that stuff that I am dreadfully excited about.<b><br /></b><br /><br /><b>How far along:</b> 36 Weeks<br /><br /><b>Size of baby:</b> 19 inches long, about 6 1/2 pounds. Honeydew Melon.<br /><br /><b>Gender:</b> Still boy<br /><br /><b>Maternity Clothes:</b> 3 words - I HATE PANTS.<br /><br /><b>Stretch Marks:</b> Yes. New ones appearing on my legs, hooray!<br /><br /><b>Sleep:</b> I take lots of naps because I am always tired. My body still loves to wake up at about 4 am for no reason.<br /><br /><b>Cravings:</b> You know how some pregnant women want to eat rocks or chalk or dirt? I don't have that problem, but I do crave smells. Like, clean smells. Sometimes I walk into my laundry area and just smell the box of bounce sheets, several times a day. Or at the store, even if I don't need anything, I will walk down the laundry and cleaning product isle and just inhale the lovely smells. Spic n Span is another favorite scent. And it's not like I am huffing the stuff, btw. But it makes having to clean a little nicer when I can enjoy the smell.<br /><br /><b>Looking forward to:</b> We are moving this weekend and my birthday is Monday, so I am looking forward to being DONE with moving and having a hopefully relaxing bday. And cake.<br /><br /><b>What I miss:</b> The cooler weather! 98 degree weather is bad enough without being a big fat preggo.<br /><br /><b>Symptoms:</b> Heart burn/acid reflux is getting worse and it wakes me up at night. Leg pain. Foot pain. Everything is protesting because of all the weight.<br /><br /><b>Worst moment this week:</b> Emotional breakdowns. Two of them. The combination of hormones and the stress of moving sure is fantastic!<br /><br /><b>Best moment this week:</b> Two great moments this week - The awesome people at my work threw a little party for me to say bye and congrats. We had catered Cafe Rio and it was really nice to have one last little party with these people. I will miss them!<br /><br />And on Saturday night I went to Cody's work (the hospital) to have lunch with him. He has his "lunch break" at 12:30 am. I figured that I probably won't have another opportunity to have lunch with him at his work, so I dragged myself out of the house at midnight and got some Taco Bell for us. I got to see where he works and what he does. It was fun to do something different, at a weird time of night when I am usually not out, and see my sweetheart in a different environment. And also, the hospital had a nice, clean smell. :) And a robot! (The robot helps with the drug distribution <span style="font-size: x-small;">(or something)</span> and was actually kind of scary because it moved so fast and was loud. That thing could really do some damage if it went crazy.)<br /><br />So that is pretty much it for now. A few weeks ago my baby updater told me that the baby can start to form memories now, and that I should sing songs to him now so he can remember them and be comforted by them outside the womb. So every night I try to sing a few songs to him. Hopefully he is paying attention! :)Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-44458769245447645872013-05-14T11:59:00.001-06:002013-05-14T11:59:41.016-06:00Laundry Room Clothes Pin WreathThis week is moving week (hopefully). One thing that I am excited about is my little laundry space in the new house. I have never had an actual room for a washer and dryer, only the kind that fit in a closet. I've seen so many ideas online for making the laundry room a cute and functional space, and I am very anxious to take a crack at it.<br /><br />Much of my house will have an orange and light blue color scheme to it, including the laundry room. The walls are light blue, and this weekend I made a "laundry wreath" to hang in there. I got the idea <a href="http://thefrugalhomemaker.com/2012/02/27/pinterest-inspired-project-clothespin-wreath/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br />It turned out great and was easy and fun to make.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22uwDzrAV1A/UZFLLgViuTI/AAAAAAAAA28/ARXosLKhHzw/s1600/orange+wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-22uwDzrAV1A/UZFLLgViuTI/AAAAAAAAA28/ARXosLKhHzw/s1600/orange+wreath.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">I also made one for my dear friend Carie. She is getting married and I wanted to put together a fun gift basket for her bridal gift. I'm pretty sure she likes teal and brown, so I did the basket with those colors in mind.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iq5Af_X9oyg/UZFK8czconI/AAAAAAAAA2k/KAmnXhjiIIM/s1600/Blue+Wreath.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iq5Af_X9oyg/UZFK8czconI/AAAAAAAAA2k/KAmnXhjiIIM/s1600/Blue+Wreath.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jH6fACBMKM/UZFLHgzbh0I/AAAAAAAAA20/COVsqGqp2OA/s1600/gift+basket+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4jH6fACBMKM/UZFLHgzbh0I/AAAAAAAAA20/COVsqGqp2OA/s1600/gift+basket+2.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Along with the wreath, the basket included brown bath towels, teal hand towels, bounce sheets, (my favorite!) a tide pen, shout (my favorite!) and some teal hangers. I was pretty proud of how cute it turned out. Hopefully Carie can use it!</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mU7w2VCBRH0/UZFLB4BFmEI/AAAAAAAAA2s/GkTelPsY_58/s1600/gift+basket+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mU7w2VCBRH0/UZFLB4BFmEI/AAAAAAAAA2s/GkTelPsY_58/s1600/gift+basket+1.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-67617321185700700152013-05-13T14:00:00.001-06:002013-05-13T14:00:40.413-06:00Time Slow DOWN!!!Hi there! I am 36 weeks along as of Friday and I can't believe it! Even though I have been "with child" for a good 8 months now, it is still not really real to me. Every once in a while I get hit with the realization that it is real, and I have less than 4 weeks to the due date, and what the heck am I going to do with a BABY?! And I am SO UNPREPARED! and AHHHHHHHHHHH!<br /><br />I know I have been feeling him move in there (and lately it has been getting pretty uncomfortable in that department) for many, many weeks, but for some reason, part of my brain sees those movements as just my little tummy friend who says hello throughout the day, and not a HUMAN BABY that has to COME OUT soon.<br /><br />I know this is what I wanted for a long long long time, but now its here and I am <span style="font-size: large;">scared</span>. What the heck have we done? Haha.<br /><br />And at the same time I can't wait to have a little bitty baby boy to take care of and finally start the job that I have been <span style="font-size: large;">waiting</span> to do since forever. And I <i>have</i> made progress I think. Normally I am not really that interested in other peoples babies and little kids, unless there is an exceptionally cute one around. But now? When I see them I kinda want to squish them, like I notice normal women wanting to do. So that is a step forward! Right?! My good friend Randi's new baby is a good example. I went to visit her new kiddo, got to hold him and see all of his tiny little features and it made me so excited! That doesn't happen with me and babies! So I must be becoming a mom, I guess. Or at least getting closer. :)<br /><br />Meanwhile, in my belly, Sawyer's movements have evolved. He has gotten pretty big, and his movements are less like jabs and more like long stretches now. Like he is trying to get out through my skin. And when he gets me in the ribs, man that feels... not great. Like uncomfortable, not nice, tickling from my insides. Sometimes I will just watch him push out his knee/elbow/whatever the heck that is SO FAR. It looks and feels insane. I still like it though, even though it is not fun sometimes.<br /><br />Yesterday was mother's day. I was interested to see if Cody was going to acknowledge that at all for me, since I am sort of almost a mom, but also not. He did surprise me with some of my favorite juice from his work with a sweet note telling me Happy Mother's Day. It was very nice and appreciated!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here is what my belly usually looks like in the evening. Surrounded by fur babies! </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8735405035/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="cat belly by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="cat belly" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7317/8735405035_8cedd7de88_z.jpg" height="300" width="400" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hear that some people think that their pets can tell that they are pregnant, or that change is coming. I don't think my cats have any clue. Regan walks right on top of poor Sawyer ALL THE TIME. Dang cat.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-84551686622352285022013-05-08T12:44:00.002-06:002013-05-08T12:44:48.043-06:00The ever-growing belly... 35 Weeks<br />It's been a while since I took any real photos of the bump, mostly because I do not feel so cute right now, and it's becoming difficult to make myself look put together and pretty enough to have a photo taken of myself. But for the sake of documentation, I tried a <i>little</i> bit today to look decent.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here is my belly today, at 35 weeks and 5 days.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-znZZ6K2ZUWs/UYqX7qbp0MI/AAAAAAAAA1E/1kRUzyS5__g/s1600/35+Weeks+Side+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-znZZ6K2ZUWs/UYqX7qbp0MI/AAAAAAAAA1E/1kRUzyS5__g/s1600/35+Weeks+Side+1.jpg" height="640" width="480" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There's about 6 pounds of baby in there! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ogUebPDku9M/UYqX0PkAgPI/AAAAAAAAA00/gwHgR5YQmtA/s1600/35+Weeks+Front.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ogUebPDku9M/UYqX0PkAgPI/AAAAAAAAA00/gwHgR5YQmtA/s1600/35+Weeks+Front.jpg" height="640" width="480" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Also, every day I get to wake up to giant, swollen feet. Look how pretty!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xF6SwLrO-2w/UYqYFTkTF5I/AAAAAAAAA1U/S8tWRy8CIAQ/s1600/Swollen+feet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xF6SwLrO-2w/UYqYFTkTF5I/AAAAAAAAA1U/S8tWRy8CIAQ/s1600/Swollen+feet.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />At least I got my toes re-done yesterday, those actually do look cute! The big toes have a white a silver feather painted on them.Next time I go in, if it is before the delivery, I think I will request an ice cold foot soak in the pedicure tub! That sounds pretty much <span style="font-size: large;">AMAZING</span>.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BuCz7xbxRg/UYqX2XjzitI/AAAAAAAAA08/2aZPyTyPE6Y/s1600/35+Weeks+Pedi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3BuCz7xbxRg/UYqX2XjzitI/AAAAAAAAA08/2aZPyTyPE6Y/s1600/35+Weeks+Pedi.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>&nbsp;{<span style="font-size: x-small;">Please do excuse my dirty shoes. They are one of only two pairs that my feet fit into!&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Maybe I should think about cleaning them, though.}</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">And just for fun, here is the belly side by side with the 25 week photo. 10 whole weeks ago. I miss those days!</span> </span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://images-blogger-opensocial.googleusercontent.com/gadgets/proxy?url=http%3A%2F%2F3.bp.blogspot.com%2F-06dIM4-HB6A%2FUYqYAY-JtxI%2FAAAAAAAAA1M%2F4-wYl21uN8c%2Fs1600%2F35%2BWeeks%2BSide%2B2.jpg&amp;container=blogger&amp;gadget=a&amp;rewriteMime=image%2F*" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-06dIM4-HB6A/UYqYAY-JtxI/AAAAAAAAA1M/4-wYl21uN8c/s1600/35+Weeks+Side+2.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div></div><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vVWdSu4s0jg/UYqc8U438jI/AAAAAAAAA2A/1JNTcg5nqLo/s1600/25+Weeks+flipped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vVWdSu4s0jg/UYqc8U438jI/AAAAAAAAA2A/1JNTcg5nqLo/s1600/25+Weeks+flipped.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-79297463564325677982013-05-03T12:02:00.001-06:002013-05-03T12:02:26.848-06:0035 Weeks - What in the??<br />Today I am 35 weeks pregnant. Only 5 weeks until the due date. This is really scary. I would probably feel a lot more ready if we were moved into the new house but alas, that won't be happening for a couple of weeks, and I am just wishing I had a little more time before baby joins us. I am expecting to go late because I just don't think my body is going to do anything labor-y any time soon. I haven't had any Braxton Hicks (that I know of) and everyone in my family has their babies pretty late, so that is what I am preparing for.<br /><br />The house is coming along, we will have all of the walls painted today, the carpet went in a couple days ago, we have our new fridge installed, and it's looking like a house that I actually can't wait to live in! The paint and carpet made such a huge difference. And it doesn't smell like smoke in there anymore, so that is a huge accomplishment. Now we just need to get the cabinets painted and we are good to move in. (ah!)<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the living room in progress:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is what it looked like when we went to visit it before the other people moved out: </div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8704418531/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Living Room Before by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="Living Room Before" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8413/8704418531_46d4b4a629_z.jpg" height="640" width="480" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And here it is after cleaning, painting, and carpeting: </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ginapblack/8705541596/" title="Living room after by Mrs. Gina Black, on Flickr"><img alt="Living room after" src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8402/8705541596_c7ee93722d_z.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a><br /><br /><br />We painted the walls a color called "Dapper Tan" with accent walls in a yummy chocolate brown. <br /><br />The moving part is the scary part as I am SO uncomfortable and useless right now. Everything is painful. How am I going to pack and move a house? Eek! I have been cleaning the new place though, despite it being so hard to move around.<br /><br />Anyway, that is what is happening. Baby is doing good, his little bum is always up in my ribs doing all kinds of dances. I love him so much already and I am excited for him to join us so I can take a crack at this mothering thing.<br /><br />Here are my stats for the week - <br /><br /><b>How far along:</b> 35 Weeks (Seriously, every time a realize this, I panic a little)<br /><br /><b>Size of baby:</b> 18 inches long and about 6 pounds - honeydew melon in fruit-speak.<br /><br /><b>Gender:</b> Boy.<br /><br /><b>Maternity Clothes:</b> Is it acceptable to just wear yoga pants and a t-shirt to the office? Please?<br /><br /><b>Stretch Marks:</b> Still more appearing everyday, creeping further and further up my belly.<br /><br /><b>Sleep:</b> :( Sad face. I am a zombie right now.<br /><br /><b>Cravings:</b> Nothing new except last night I wanted Little Ceasars so bad, but they were already closed.<br /><br /><b>Looking forward to:</b> Having my house done!<br /><br /><b>What I miss:</b> In all seriousness, I miss the times when getting out of bed wasn't such a painful ordeal. <br /><br /><b>Symptoms:</b> So much discomfort. I can't even imagine how it is going to be a month from now. Oh, but hey, I have been better about taking my Calcium and the Restless Leg Syndrome has gotten better! <br /><br />&nbsp;<b>Worst moment this week:</b> Having panic attacks over the pressure of getting out of our current living arrangement and into the new house.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Best moment this week:</b> Finally being able to shop for baby! <br /><br /><b>Pregnancy dream of the week:</b><br /><br />We had the baby, and it's actually a BOY this time, first time it's ever not been a girl in my dreams. He is bald with a little bit of blonde fuzz on his head. He is about a day old and Cody wants to go out to eat. I am following his truck in my van with Sawyer in the back in his car-seat. I turn around to look at him and I realize that it's the first time I have ever turned around and seen my baby there, so I was a little misty. (And by the way, the baby looked to be about 3 months old, even though he was just born yesterday). Then I realized that it is the middle of winter and it is <i>freezing</i> and my newborn doesn't have a HAT on! So I start panicking and turning the heat on full blast and cursing Cody for not putting a hat on the baby (for some reason it was all Cody's fault). We get to the restaurant and Cody chose this place that you have to walk a few blocks to get to and there are tons of people crowding the streets waiting to get into the restaurant. So now I am really mad because why does he ALWAYS choose to go to this place on a saturday night?! In the middle of winter! With a newborn hatless baby!<br /><br />The End.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-6699795102813015972013-04-30T15:13:00.000-06:002013-04-30T15:27:32.231-06:00How I really feel...just FYI<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></div><br /><br />When people I don't know that well ask me how I'm doing I respond with the neutral "Oh I'm fine, everythings good." or even "Things are getting a little uncomfortable." and I throw in a little polite laugh. But really, this is what I want to say:<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://i.imgur.com/TMbvr.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Parks and Recreation gif" border="0" src="http://i.imgur.com/TMbvr.gif" height="266" width="400" /></a></div><br /><br />Just, you know, FYI.Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-91003130144672164832013-04-29T15:01:00.002-06:002013-04-30T15:17:35.905-06:00The Baby Shower! Blue and Orange<div style="text-align: center;">Here are <strike>some</strike> kind of a lot of photos from the baby shower taken by the hostess, my sister-in-law, Elisa. The theme was orange and blue and as you can see, everything turned out amazingly! </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">The invitations:</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMW_h5hFbu4/UX7by1InxUI/AAAAAAAAA0U/wy4w_ux66Iw/s1600/Invites.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LMW_h5hFbu4/UX7by1InxUI/AAAAAAAAA0U/wy4w_ux66Iw/s640/Invites.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The seating:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTKYj-hU9dc/UX7ZTT7WzvI/AAAAAAAAA0E/Hd3M-EAtRW4/s1600/seating.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eTKYj-hU9dc/UX7ZTT7WzvI/AAAAAAAAA0E/Hd3M-EAtRW4/s640/seating.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The AWESOME letters made by Elisa for Sawyer. These are totally going in his nursery. He is one lucky baby!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lnaRTJ_Id84/UX7X48gYf-I/AAAAAAAAAyI/kjuRVb2L3bE/s1600/Sawyer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lnaRTJ_Id84/UX7X48gYf-I/AAAAAAAAAyI/kjuRVb2L3bE/s640/Sawyer.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">One of the activities we had was for everyone to color an alphabet page for Sawyer. We gave them a page with a letter on it and they had to draw something that started with that letter. Everyone was asked to be creative and no "C" is for Cat's or anything like that. They turned out so cute! They will be made into a book for Sawyer. I can't wait to see how it turns out!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the coloring station.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pwbwv356BTg/UX7ZSevpUoI/AAAAAAAAAz8/kHuZBC9G7Sc/s1600/seating+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pwbwv356BTg/UX7ZSevpUoI/AAAAAAAAAz8/kHuZBC9G7Sc/s640/seating+2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Here is the lovely me, trying to not walk in the heels I chose to wear.</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UoWHkGrQc1U/UX7X22HC95I/AAAAAAAAAx4/n-PlWiRWEss/s1600/Me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UoWHkGrQc1U/UX7X22HC95I/AAAAAAAAAx4/n-PlWiRWEss/s640/Me.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EKVNQ6oHRMQ/UX7YDS_MgoI/AAAAAAAAAzY/0U1kMrbjEP0/s1600/lulu+belle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EKVNQ6oHRMQ/UX7YDS_MgoI/AAAAAAAAAzY/0U1kMrbjEP0/s640/lulu+belle.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My doggy Lulu Belle! Not many people seemed to like her dress. But she matched the party! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WFxLVukafh4/UX7YCYF_a3I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/lYkkYO9HsOo/s1600/lulu+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WFxLVukafh4/UX7YCYF_a3I/AAAAAAAAAzQ/lYkkYO9HsOo/s640/lulu+2.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Cody planted orange and blue flowers just for the shower. And I would like to mention that for most of the shower, he voluntarily stood next to my chair and made sure I had everything I needed. He also filmed the highlights with the cam-corder. <i>And</i> he even colored a few alphabet pages. I love that man.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AFz0wrO2xbg/UX7X-fpamGI/AAAAAAAAAyw/xN0jjTzqfDI/s1600/flowers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AFz0wrO2xbg/UX7X-fpamGI/AAAAAAAAAyw/xN0jjTzqfDI/s640/flowers.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q15xxn5lhI8/UX7X527Q7TI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/HDkXWdT_WSM/s1600/Shower+Decor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q15xxn5lhI8/UX7X527Q7TI/AAAAAAAAAyQ/HDkXWdT_WSM/s640/Shower+Decor.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1SEGEn-rzMI/UX7YEsPjvUI/AAAAAAAAAzg/9yN1u3bGDtQ/s1600/onesies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1SEGEn-rzMI/UX7YEsPjvUI/AAAAAAAAAzg/9yN1u3bGDtQ/s640/onesies.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Baby food tasting game. Yum! And each one had a little chevron covering with a diaper safety pin holding the number.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c5Gjn6GPNus/UX7X7CeBNLI/AAAAAAAAAyY/s_qpFTx6N5w/s1600/baby+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-c5Gjn6GPNus/UX7X7CeBNLI/AAAAAAAAAyY/s_qpFTx6N5w/s640/baby+food.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The party favors were blue and orange sixlets. Seriously, so much detail went into this! Elisa rocks. Look at the little flags on the boxes!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EX2USy9KXNA/UX7X9BBT5lI/AAAAAAAAAyo/LAmWK92NkGI/s1600/favors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EX2USy9KXNA/UX7X9BBT5lI/AAAAAAAAAyo/LAmWK92NkGI/s640/favors.jpg" height="425" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">&nbsp;The food table even had color coordinated food and drinks.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUTDyw-Ex8s/UX7X_V2bDHI/AAAAAAAAAy4/CAS9G8j6yAE/s1600/food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sUTDyw-Ex8s/UX7X_V2bDHI/AAAAAAAAAy4/CAS9G8j6yAE/s640/food.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cnkLB1U6nJ4/UX7X3ymAXvI/AAAAAAAAAyA/GehItvon7NQ/s1600/My+cravings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cnkLB1U6nJ4/UX7X3ymAXvI/AAAAAAAAAyA/GehItvon7NQ/s640/My+cravings.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">I must say, one of my favorite parts were the gray paper straws and the blue cutlery. And the carrot cups. Ok, all of it was my favorite.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rCNJn1mjs0Q/UX7YFpqESwI/AAAAAAAAAzo/ndqSotOtMUI/s1600/the+spread.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rCNJn1mjs0Q/UX7YFpqESwI/AAAAAAAAAzo/ndqSotOtMUI/s640/the+spread.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xCmnygAoxBc/UX7X8B2VG7I/AAAAAAAAAyg/scuJPo5ZV58/s1600/drinks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xCmnygAoxBc/UX7X8B2VG7I/AAAAAAAAAyg/scuJPo5ZV58/s640/drinks.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5CaFXdyqDk/UX7YAfUkPvI/AAAAAAAAAzA/KMbX9gAjWlM/s1600/fruit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-b5CaFXdyqDk/UX7YAfUkPvI/AAAAAAAAAzA/KMbX9gAjWlM/s640/fruit.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S4oeZc9Rr_g/UX7YBS1M9OI/AAAAAAAAAzI/EDf3jvDQWSU/s1600/jello.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-S4oeZc9Rr_g/UX7YBS1M9OI/AAAAAAAAAzI/EDf3jvDQWSU/s640/jello.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Oh yeah. and ONESIE and BIB shaped tiny finger sandwiches!!! I mean.... how adorable is that?? It's just too cute.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F15S5Kctfnc/UX7YGiKkPxI/AAAAAAAAAzw/3ogEtz44Yn0/s1600/tiny+sandwiches.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F15S5Kctfnc/UX7YGiKkPxI/AAAAAAAAAzw/3ogEtz44Yn0/s640/tiny+sandwiches.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;">The shower was beautiful and turned out better than I could have ever imagined. We so appreciated Elisa throwing this for us, and for family traveling for this little event, and for all of the lovely gifts we received. We sure are blessed! Thank you so much!!!!</div>Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-8786912727228787492013-04-25T10:36:00.000-06:002013-04-25T10:36:07.308-06:0033 Weeks Along . . .<br />This week was my 33rd week of pregnancy bliss. As of today I have 43 days until my due date.<br /><br />&nbsp;I had a doctors appointment on Tuesday. Everything is super normal and we got to hear babies heartbeat, which is always fun. We found out that the baby is head down, which means the constant upward pushing towards my chest is caused by a little baby bum (aww!). So now when I am holding the top of my tummy, trying to perhaps relieve the pressure that is constantly there, I know my hand is being pushed by a tiny bum and it makes me <span style="font-size: x-large;">happy</span>.<br /><br />Now I will go to see the doctor in 2 weeks, and then once a week after that. This is getting real, homies. And it is really scary to me! These past few months have absolutely flown by. I am so excited to meet this little addition to our family. SO EXCITED! But also, so not ready. I mean, I only have THREE paychecks left before I leave work. (ah!!!!)<br /><br />He is super active (sometime <i>insanely</i> active). Sometimes it isn't very pleasant but mostly I just love it so much. Feeling the baby move is my absolute favorite. It feels amazing. I know I am really going to miss this part of pregnancy when he comes out.<br /><br />Due to some serious upper back pain, I have worked out a little deal with my boss. I can now work part time at the office and part time at home. This is saving me. I really can't be in this chair for too long before I get SO uncomfortable and I am in a lot of pain. It is sucky because I can't really get anything done. Cooking in the kitchen is pretty much impossible and cleaning the new house hasn't happened for a couple of weeks because of it.<br /><br />Here are my stats for this week:<br /><br /><b>How far along:</b> 33 Weeks<br /><br /><b>Size of baby:</b> Pineapple sized? Durian fruit sized? (what the crap is a durian.) Past the 17 inch mark.<br /><br /><b>Gender:</b> Male.<br /><br /><b>Maternity Clothes:</b> No matter what I wear I feel like a whale. Poor husband.<br /><br /><b>Stretch Marks:</b> <strike>Getting</strike> Scary. Just scary.<br /><br /><b>Sleep:</b> Still a joke and probably always will be. I toss and turn, have to get up 4 times to pee, have crazy, frightening dreams. And most of all, HEART BURN. I wake up feeling like spicy hot chili is sitting in my throat. Aaaand I am tired all day. Hooray! But it could be worse, and probably will be.<br /><br /><b>Cravings:</b> Strawberries, WATERMELON (WHY is it not watermelon season!?), red vines, and cinnamon toast crunch.<br /><br /><b>Looking forward to:</b> The house getting done! Painting is under-way and carpet will be installed next week.<br /><br /><b>Symptoms:</b> The usual. And by the way, restless leg syndrome is STUPID.<br /><br /><b>Worst moment this week:</b> Hmm. Just another emotional volcanic explosion. No biggie.<br /><br /><b>Best moment this week: </b>Sitting outside in the shade with the cool breeze, listening to the wind chimes and thinking about my baby. That was a very lovely, peaceful moment. I think that I really need to slow down sometimes and just try and enjoy and connect with the little spirit in my belly sometimes. I think that is really important.<br /><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-34903189951539848222013-04-17T14:20:00.002-06:002013-04-17T14:20:22.939-06:00Bumpday Bumpdate - 32 Weeks<br /><br />How far along: 32 Weeks<br /><br />Size of baby: 4 pounds!<br /><br />Gender: Man-child<br /><br />Maternity Clothes: Yes. I feel huge. I am huge. Comfy maternity clothes are a must. And I pretty much only wear flip-flops at this point because stuffing my big fat swollen feet into appropriate shoes looks pretty ridiculous.<br /><br />Stretch Marks: Worse and worse every day.<br /><br />Sleep: Many, many trips to the bathroom. And then insomnia. And heartburn.When I <i>am</i> asleep I am dreaming of either renovations to the new house, cleaning the new house, or shopping for baby items but not being able to find the right ones. So basically the usual.<br /><br />Cravings: Blah. Food just sits in my chest. Eating doesn't ever sound that great.<br /><br />What I miss: Being more regular-sized. Having my full lung capacity. That sort of nonsense.<br /><br />Looking forward to: The house being painted and the carpet being in.<br /><br />Symptoms: Carpal tunnel sometimes. Restless leg syndrome. <i>Unbelievably</i> itchy ankles. Seriously, no rash, no bumps, not really swollen, just itchy beyond all reason. And constant upper back pain.<br /><br />Worst moment this week: Nothing horrendous has happened this week. Just my back hurting all the time to the point where I can't be at work for very long.<br /><br />Best moment this week: The few moments that I get to spend with my husband are the best. :)<br /><br /><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5724303865764166121.post-87085604733359251282013-04-12T11:38:00.000-06:002013-04-12T11:38:55.526-06:00Preggo Update - Finally!&nbsp;I have totally slacked on the blogging lately. A lot, <i>A LOT</i> has been going on. The baby shower was last weekend and turned out amazingly. My sister-in-law did such a great job and it couldn't have been better. It was awesome.<br /><br />Cody and I have been doing a ton of work on our new house to get it ready for moving in. I have spent several hours cleaning the kitchen (ew, gross.) and Cody has ripped out all of the carpet and washed the walls. I am still not done with the stupid kitchen because I can't do a whole lot at once and I have to take a lot of breaks. And it is FILTHY. But half of it looks so-fresh-and-so-clean-clean that you can't even tell it has been used, thankyouverymuch. And what's most importantly (said in my ghetto voice) is that everything is sanitized.<br /><br />Except the fridge. I am <i>not</i> touching that thing. I have a gag reflex, people. I have <i>limits</i>. We are going to have to get a new one because there is no way. NO WAY I am putting my FOOD in that frightening, unearthly thing. The smell that lingers for <i>several</i> moments after you open and close it is enough to choke a donkey. So....<br /><br />Oh yeah, and I put the oven on self-clean and it started ON FIRE. So that was exciting. Hopefully I can clean the crap out of it by hand and there will be no more incidents of the flamey variety.<br /><br />And just FYI, I have been wearing a filtered mask to protect myself and my unborn from any fumes/chemicals in the cleaning supplies. Just in case you really wanted to know. <i>Someone</i> has to clean this place to make it safe (I mean there are live BUGS in some of these cabinets, come on, now) to live in, and it aint no husband of mine that will be doing it. He <i>will</i> be handling the painting, though. Which he is very excited about as we have never had our own walls to paint.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">So that is what is up with me. And here is me today, documenting the belly in it's 32nd week of pregnancy.</div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZgZRh9-Ang/UWhAfvhT-zI/AAAAAAAAAww/0h0tBEy-9v8/s1600/32+Weeks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-EZgZRh9-Ang/UWhAfvhT-zI/AAAAAAAAAww/0h0tBEy-9v8/s1600/32+Weeks.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HoqeSnGy2iA/UWhAfj8kPHI/AAAAAAAAAw4/83nNht4gVi8/s1600/32+Weeks+Belly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HoqeSnGy2iA/UWhAfj8kPHI/AAAAAAAAAw4/83nNht4gVi8/s1600/32+Weeks+Belly.jpg" height="400" width="300" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oh yeah, and here are my toes that I had done for the baby shower. My big toes are sporting wee baby foot prints. (Awww!) </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rwvX660Sq9Q/UWhAfUFcKiI/AAAAAAAAAws/jS257rL_UJo/s1600/baby+toes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rwvX660Sq9Q/UWhAfUFcKiI/AAAAAAAAAws/jS257rL_UJo/s1600/baby+toes.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div><br />Gina Blackhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09497812701374791415noreply@blogger.com1